Johnny Hockey is back with the Flames, and Calgary is rolling up the Pacific Division standings.
Sean Monahan scored on a power play midway through the third period off a pass from Johnny Gaudreau, lifting Calgary over the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Tuesday night for its fourth straight win.
Gaudreau dished to Monahan from behind the net into the slot, and Monahan slid a wrist shot past goalie Kari Lehtonen through a narrow opening at the bottom left corner of the net.
“I was a little too aggressive on trying to take the pass away,” Lehtonen said. “The pass went through, and I was still kind of sideways when the shot was coming. That was not a good play by me.”
READ MORE: Calgary Flames prepare for life without left-winger Johnny Gaudreau
Calgary has moved up two spots with this streak to third place in the Pacific, a nice leap for a team with just one playoff appearance in the past seven seasons.
Gaudreau’s goal tied it at 1 in the second period. He has two goals and two assists in two games since recovering from a broken finger.
Monahan has a five-game point-scoring streak, including a goal and an assist in each of the last two.
“We talk about confidence and now it’s starting to come for him,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. “He’s comfortable with how we want to play on a daily basis, and now he’s getting rewarded for sticking with it.”
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Calgary has scored on 4 of 10 power plays in the last four games.
“Power play’s confident now,” Gulutzan said. “They’re making plays, and pucks are going in and they’re confident.”
READ MORE: Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau fractures finger, undergoes surgery
The Flames are 6-1-1 in the last eight games.
The Stars are 1-3-1 in the last five. They missed a chance to win two in a row for only the second time this season.
Chad Johnson made 29 saves for the seventh win in his last eight games. Lehtonen had 18.
“I’m just one piece of it,” Johnson said. “Guys helped me out by clearing rebounds, making sure I see pucks. It’s exciting for us.”
Dallas’ Curtis McKenzie opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 13:15 of the first period. He took the puck away from TJ Brodie in the neutral zone and skated down low in the right faceoff circle. McKenzie beat Johnson with a wrist shot.
Each team had an apparent goal disallowed.
With the teams skating 4-on-4 in the second period, Gaudreau had a breakaway, but Lehtonen kicked away the shot.
Gaudreau and the Flames got even at 12:19 of the second. Monahan sent a pass to Gaudreau, and he skated in on Lehtonen 2-on-0 with Alex Chiasson. Gaudreau passed across ice to Chiasson, who passed back to Gaudreau on the left for a snap shot with Lehtonen pulled out of position.
The Flames appeared to take a lead at 15:23 of the second, when Mark Giordano drilled a slap shot into the net. Stars coach Lindy Ruff challenged the goal, saying that Calgary was offside, and the decision was overturned.
With 4:35 to play, the referees determined that a Stars player had kicked the puck into the net. No goal.
NOTES:
Gaudreau has scored in his last three games, interrupted by a 10-game absence because of the broken finger. In his last five games, Gaudreau has five of his seven goals — three of those against the Stars. He has eight points (six goals, two assists) in eight career games vs. Dallas. … Stars LW Curtis McKenzie has scored in consecutive games for the first time in his 57-game career. … Dallas recalled C Jason Dickinson from Texas of the AHL. He was inactive against the Flames. … Stars D Julius Honka (upper-body injury) left after four shifts in the second period. . Calgary is 8-6-2 and tied for the NHL lead in wins on the road.
UP NEXT:
Flames: Travel to Arizona to finish a two-game trip on Thursday night. Michael Frolik scored in overtime to give Calgary a 2-1 home victory over the Coyotes on Nov. 16.
Stars: Play the second game of a two-game homestand on Thursday night against the Predators. Dallas lost 5-2 at Nashville on Nov. 23.
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